Max Dowman: How Arsenal could register record-breaking teenager amid injury crisis

Arsenal could appeal to the Premier League to make an exception and let the injury-stricken club register 15-year-old teenage sensation Max Dowman for their first-team squad.

Dowman has been rated as one of Arsenal's brightest young talents for years, despite only turning 15 in December. The teen was still 14 when he made his debut for Arsenal's under-21 side earlier this season, breaking the record which current first-team starlet Ethan Nwaneri had previously set. A regular in the club's UEFA Youth League team, Dowman was even included in the senior squad which travelled to Dubai for warm weather training this month.

Now that Kai Havertz has joined Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus in Arsenal's increasingly crowded treatment room, Mikel Arteta's attacking options have been entirely eliminated.

This unfortunate proliferation of injuries across the frontline has led to some drastic suggested solutions. While a free transfer for a 36-year-old Diego Costa remains on the table, Arsenal have also been encouraged to promote Dowman to the first team.

According to the Premier League Handbook, a player "placed in an age group
below Under-16 shall not be named in a club's team sheet for or participate in a
league match".

Dowman was included in Arsenal's under-15 squad for the current campaign but the club are considering requesting "special dispensation" given their glut of injuries, according to the Daily Mail. It remains to be seen whether the Premier League will entertain any plea.

If Dowman is allowed to make his top-flight debut before the end of the season, he would surpass Nwaneri's status as the youngest player in the competition's history. Nwaneri, now a relative veteran at 17, is one of the three forwards at Arteta's disposal for Arsenal's trip to Leicester City on Saturday.

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